Cosmos bipinnatus, commonly
called the garden cosmos or Mexican aster, is a medium-sized
flowering herbaceous plantnative to Mexico. Spanish priests grew them in their mission
gardens in Mexico, where they were
inspired by the symmetrical nature of their petals and christened the flower
"Cosmos," the Greek word for harmony
or ordered universe. (Further exploration of the word “cosmos” reveals the
following: according to Wikipedia, “today, the word is generally used as a synonym of the Latin loanword "Universe"… In many Slavic languages such as Russian, Bulgarian, and Serbian, the word
‘cosmos’ means the "outer space". In Mandarin Chinese, cosmos and universe are both translated
as… space-time…”)

The species and its varieties and cultivars are popular as an ornamental plant in temperate climate gardens. It can also be found in
natural areas in much of North America. Cosmos bipinnatus is considered a half-hardyannual, although plants may reappear via self-sowing
for several years. The plant height varies from 2–6 ft. When flowering, the plant can become
top-heavy. This problem is alleviated when grown in groups, as the bipinnate
leaves interlock, and
the
colony supports itself.

The leaves of Cosmos plant are simple, pinnate, or
bipinnate, and are arranged in opposite pairs and finely cut into threadlike
segments. The flowers bloom twice a year
and only once in the season, and die with first frost. They can regrow in the following spring if
seed falls on bare ground, and have achieved weed or invasive status in some
parts of the US. Cosmos flowers occur
in pink, white, maroon, and pink with deep pink flares.
They are produced in a capitulum, surrounded by a ring of broad ray
florets and a center of disc florets. Cosmos flowers, 2-4 inches in diameter, come in brightly colored single or double flowers. [1]

Commentary:

“How does it
feel

How does it feel

To be on your own

With no direction home

Like a complete unknown

Like a rolling stone? “

Excerpt from Like A
Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan

“ One sees
clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Antoine
de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

The proving showed the utter aptness of the flower’s name, Cosmos. This is a remedy about being
very alienated, very far out there, not understood except through the
heart. Cosmo Cramer, the character from
the TV sitcom Seinfeld, is a perfect
exemplar of an aspect of this remedy—being so eccentric that you can no longer
connect. As the provers said, “these
plants are so far away they can’t speak,” and “maybe if you’re out of this
world they speak to you…” There were
many references to outer space, the stars, the universe – all appropriate in
light of the plant’s origin.

In an extraordinary interaction, one prover repeatedly
argued with the plant, demanding to know why the plant had never spoken to
her. (“You never even say good
morning!”) She was demanding
communication in a way that the plant could not deliver. Interestingly, this same prover was able to
manifest alienation, grief, and desire to “be part of” which speaks to the deep
desire for connection in this remedy. Once she felt part of the universe, she also expressed a sense of
balance and groundedness which speaks to the original Greek meaning of the word
‘cosmos” as “ordered universe.”

Another theme that emerged was that of secrets, but not in a
clandestine way. It was more reflective of information that needed to be shared
so that commonality could be established.

Interestingly, Florence Nightingale emerged as a distinct
theme. Two of the provers were nurses,
and they thought the mention of this nursing icon was simply a way for the two
provers to find commonality. Upon closer
examination, Nightingale was not only a radical reformer in patient care, but
she was also a religious radical, believing that all sinners had equal access
to heaven. (Keep in mind this plant was
christened “Cosmos” by priests.) Florence Nightingale may represent an aspect
of this remedy – the visionary and humanist who is eccentric yet able to act
concretely on her beliefs, not becoming so out there that she loses her head. As one of the provers articulated, if you can
let go of your alienation, you feel connected… Even if you are ahead of your
time!

The Nightingale itself - the bird - is also connected symbolically to poetry and the
Muse. Who is more alienated than the
poet yet who is able to make exquisite connections? Who else brings the stars to earth?

2:C1 When I looked at it my first thought was they are the
least talkative of plants. They don’t say much.
It s the first plant I planted in the place I first did homeopathy. I
planted them along the path. They bring an airy feeling.

2:C1 My biggest complaint about this plant is that they have
nothing to say.

3:C1 They are for people who don’t say much.

3:C1 She (Susun Weed) does research about medicinal herbs and
she doesn’t like sick people. People listen to her.

3:C1 She is “out there.” Her opinions are out there – too far out in the cosmos – like Cosmos the
plant.

3:C1 Susun

Weed is opinionated. Her opinions are out there.
But she doesn’t treat people.

2:C1 These plants are so far away they can’t speak.

1:C1 Maybe if you’re
out of this world they speak to you.

2:C1 It is as if they need a medium.

3:C1 A channel.

1:C1 Seinfeld – Cosmo
Cramer.

2:C1 Maybe he needed
this remedy.

3:C1 He had a
presence.

2:C1 Nobody understood him because he was so far out.

3:C1 Out there,
eccentric, voice of the eccentrics.

2:C1 I feel really sad.

2:C1 I just want to
lay outside and look at stars.

2:C1 Something is making me sad. I feel really sad, so small. Everything is so vast [she cries.]

3:C1 I used to get
existential angst. When I looked at Time lapse photography of millions of years
of earth – freakish, scary. Our
insignificance.

2:C1 Sadness. I felt very insignificant on the planet, when
looking at how much bigger everyone is.

2:C1 Separate and
alone.

2:C1 I want to see all the stars – millions and millions –
to be one with them rather than being separate on one star.

2:C1 Not united. Just a part of it all.

2:C1 The feeling of
separate and alone goes away – it all comes from the heart but my back is
really connected to the earth.

2:C1 This is a good,
clear feeling – balanced. Never felt this even on drugs.

2:C1 Separation. I
have this name and I want to talk about the healing energy of plants but I
don’t want to treat people – people are problematic, disappointing.

2:C1 To need
connection and love is natural.

2:C1 Something is
far away and really close, elusive, vs something that is so true to the heart
vs a distance.

I loved reading the proving of this beautiful flower that enhances so many gardens, including my own. So good to know that it now has a place in the garden of homeopathic treatment options. Thank you Pat!

Posts: 4

Re:Reply #3 on : Sun February 03, 2013, 22:25:28

Thank you both for your comments!

To answer Alize's question, our repeated experience is that triturating to the C3 reveals the depth and breadth of the remedy. The archetypes appear at all levels of the trituration. Of course, those of us who developed the Great Lakes Protocol found that combining a group trituration with individual provers taking a 12C also reveals a great deal about the remedy. But after doing triturations many different ways we see no difference between triturating to the C3 or the C6. Thank you!

Posts: 4

tritReply #2 on : Sun February 03, 2013, 07:45:59

Question: Is there a reason only to triturate to C2,C3?
Further triturations bring deeper information and also deeper cures.Later when we use the remedy. Just study the trituration handbook of Anneke Hogeland. And the Publications of Izel Botha see homeopathic Links or www.hahnemanninstituut.nl

Thanks for doing this nice work, Alize

Posts: 4

Cosmos provingReply #1 on : Sat February 02, 2013, 18:27:05

Thank-you for a very complete proving of a common flower! I will never look at the plant the same way.